Fluid pressure and hydraulic fracturing in hydrothermal ore formation at gold deposits

The active role of fluids in the formation of ore-localizing structures expressed in dilatancy and hydraulic fracturing is suggested from the results of detailed comprehensive study of the Tokur gold deposit in the Upper Amur region, Russia, and the surveying of the published data on fluid pressure that characterizes formation of other hydrothermal deposits different in depth, morphology of orebodies, and their localization with respect to rocks of various permeability. Development conditions and possible implications of hydraulic fracturing for ore formation are considered. Indications of involvement of this mechanism in the orebody formation at the Pokrovsky, Berezovsky, and Nezhdaninsky gold deposits in Russia and the Bendigo deposit in Australia are discussed.